This document fleshes out content from chapter 17 of 2nd edition of ACT Made Simple.

Formal Mindfulness Practices To Train Up Focusing, Engaging,

Savoring Skills: Drinking, Breathing, Eating, Body Scan

This document contains basic scripts for 4 formal mindfulness exercises: mindful
drinking, mindful breathing, mindful eating, and a mindful body scan.
Here are some general tips for all exercises:

1. Don’t stick to the script. Improvise, modify, adapt. If you read it aloud exactly as
written it will sound odd and stilted. Change the language to suit your unique way
of speaking and the clients you work with. Change the pacing and pausing as
needs be.
2. If doing this one-on-one with a client, a) keep your eyes open so you can keep
track of the client’s reactions, and b) keep checking in with the client, asking how
it is going, ensuring they are willing to continue, and stopping or modifying the
exercise to deal with any problems. Ideally, if working one-on-one, these exercises
include an ongoing dialogue between client and therapist.
3. Before starting these exercises, make sure the client understands the purpose.
What skill(s) will the client develop from this practice? How will that skill help with
the issues that brought her to therapy? How will that skill help her achieve her
therapy goals?
4. Always offer a choice of eyes open or eyes closed. However if clients are
dissociative, drowsy, prone to flashbacks, encourage eyes open.
5. These aren’t relaxation techniques, so don’t make your voice sound all soft and
dreamy; keep it calm and vary your volume and pitch and pacing to help clients
stay awake rather than put them to sleep.

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

 How To Bring In Defusion, Acceptance, Self-as-context

In the exercises that follow, the main emphasis is on contacting the present moment:
focusing attention; noticing when attention wanders and refocusing; paying attention
with curiosity; broadening or narrowing focus of attention.

However, we can also emphasise the other three mindfulness processes of ACT by
adding instructions as follows:

Defusion
Let your mind chatter away like a radio playing in the background; don’t try to silence
the radio, you’ll only make it louder. Don’t try to ignore the radio, it’ll only bother you
more. Just let the radio paly on in the background, and keep your attention on the
task
Let your thoughts come and stay and go like cars driving past outside your house
Notice what your mind tells you
Notice how your mind hooks you
Notice what stories hook you and pull you out of the exercise

Acceptance
Allow your feelings to be as they are; don’t try to change or control them
Let them come and stay and go in their own good time
If a difficult feeling is present, silently name it “Here’s a feeling of boredom” or “I’m
noticing impatience” and let it be

Self-as-context
And take a moment to acknowledge, there’s a part of you that’s doing all this noticing
As you notice X, be aware you’re noticing
There is X, and there’s a part of you noticing

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

 Mindful Drinking Exercise
(timings are approximate indicators only)
So I now invite you to sit up straight, and please do this exercise in silence. You will be able to talk about
it later.
Now take hold of the cup (or glass), and observe it as if you are a curious person who has never seen an
object like this before ... (pause 5 seconds)
Notice the shape and the colour of this cup/glass ... (pause 5 seconds)
Notice how the light shines through it or bounces off it …(pause 5 seconds)
Notice the texture of the surface; run your fingers over it, and notice what it feels like ... (pause 5
seconds)
Notice the weight of it in your hand (pause 5 seconds)
Look at the liquid inside it (name it – e.g. orange juice, water, tea)… notice the way the light reflects off
the surface (pause 5 seconds)
Gently move the cup so as to make the liquid inside swirl around... (pause 5 seconds)
Notice the patterns on the surface of the liquid, as it swirls …(pause 5 seconds)
Now raise it to your nose and smell it ... (pause 5 seconds)
If your liquid is tea or coffee or something else with a distinctive smell, then inhale it deeply through
your nose, and really notice the aroma ... (pause 5 seconds)
And now raise the up or glass to your mouth, and rest it against your lips, and pause for a moment
before drinking ... (pause 5 seconds)
And notice what is happening inside your mouth ... (pause 5 seconds)
You may notice saliva forming … or your mouth getting warmer … or an urge to drink ... (pause 5
seconds)
And in a moment—do not do it yet—I am going to ask you to take one small sip ... as slowly as you can …
and then close your mouth again, but let the liquid stay inside your mouth, without swallowing it ..
(pause 5 seconds)
And so now, in ultraslow motion, take a small sip ... then close your mouth, and let the liquid stay there,
inside your mouth …(pause 5 seconds)
And ever so slowly, ever so gently, swill the liquid around inside your mouth … (pause 5 seconds)
Feel it against your tongue, and inside your cheeks … (pause 5 seconds)
And if this liquid has a taste, really notice it ... (pause 5 seconds)
And notice where you can taste it on your tongue... (pause 5 seconds)
And I invite you to close your eyes now, to enhance the experience ... (pause 5 seconds)

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

And just notice any urges arising ... (pause 5 seconds)
And then, in ultraslow motion, swallow it … (pause 5 seconds) and notice the sound of swallowing
….(pause 5 seconds) and the movement of your throat
And whenever you notice that your attention has wandered, acknowledge it, and then refocus on this
exercise
And now do the same thing all over again.
Open your eyes again, and notice the shape and the colour of this cup or glass ... (pause 5 seconds)
Notice how the light shines through it or bounces off it …(pause 5 seconds)
Notice the texture of the surface; run your fingers over it, and notice what it feels like ... (pause 5
seconds)
Notice the weight of it in your hand (pause 5 seconds)
Look at the liquid inside it … notice the way the light reflects off the surface (pause 5 seconds)
Gently move the cup so as to make the liquid inside swirl around... (pause 5 seconds)
Notice the patterns on the surface of the liquid, as it swirls …(pause 5 seconds)
Now raise it to your nose and smell it ... (pause 5 seconds)
And now raise the up or glass to your mouth, and rest it against your lips, and pause for a moment
before drinking ... (pause 5 seconds)
And notice what is happening inside your mouth ... (pause 5 seconds)
You may notice saliva forming … or your mouth getting warmer … or an urge to drink ... (pause 5
seconds)
And now, as slowly as possible, take a small sip ... then close your mouth, and let the liquid stay there,
inside your mouth … (pause 5 seconds)
And ever so slowly, ever so gently, swill the liquid around inside your mouth … (pause 5 seconds)
Feel it against your tongue, and inside your cheeks … (pause 5 seconds)
Notice the taste of it, if any ... (pause 5 seconds)
And notice where you can taste it on your tongue... (pause 5 seconds)
And just notice any urges arising ... (pause 5 seconds)
And then, in ultraslow motion, swallow it … and notice the sound of swallowing …. and the movement of
your throat (pause 5 seconds)
And whenever you notice that your attention has wandered, acknowledge it, and then refocus on this
exercise (pause 5 seconds)
And finally, let’s do this one more time, but this time I am going to say very little
So once again, with great curiosity, notice the cup… (pause 5 seconds)

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

And the liquid inside … (pause 5 seconds)
And sip slowly ... (pause 5 seconds)
And hold it in your mouth … (pause 5 seconds)
And notice what happens …(pause 5 seconds)
And really notice it when you swallow … (pause 5 seconds)
And now coming to the end of the exercise … (pause 5 seconds)
So let’s finish up with grounding ourselves … (pause 5 seconds)
Slowly push your feet into the floor, and straighten your back, and stretch your arms
And really notice the feelings of your arms stretching, or your feet pressing, or your back straightening.
(pause 5 seconds)
Now open your eyes and ears as fully as you can, and notice with curiosity where you are.
Look around you. What are five things you can see?
Listen carefully. What are three or four things you can hear?
As you breathe in the air, what can you smell?
Notice where you are and what you are doing.
Open your hands and gently run your fingers over the chair beneath you.
Notice what this surface feels like under your fingers.
So notice: there is a part of you that is able to notice everything that you see, hear, touch, taste, smell,
think, feel and do.

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

Mindful Breathing
(Unless stated otherwise, the word “pause” indicates a pause of around 5-10 seconds. A row of
dots “…” indicates a pause of about 2-3 seconds)

I invite you to sit with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight, and either fix on a spot
or close your eyes. And bring your attention to your breathing and observe it as if you’re a
curious child who has never encountered breathing before. (pause)
Notice the air as it comes in through your nostrils ... and goes down to the bottom of your lungs
(pause)
And notice it as it flows back out again (pause )
Notice the air moving in and out of your nostrils … how it’s slightly warmer as it comes out ...
and slightly cooler as it goes in . (pause)
Notice the subtle rise and fall of your shoulders (pause)
And the gentle rise and fall of your rib cage (pause)
And the rise & fall of your abdomen (pause)
Fix your attention on one of these areas, whichever you prefer: on the breath moving in and
out of the nostrils, on the rising & falling of the ribcage, or the shoulders or the abdomen
(pause)
Keep your attention on this spot, noticing the movement - in and out – as the breath comes and
goes (pause 10-20 seconds)
Whatever feelings, urges or sensations arise, whether pleasant or unpleasant, gently
acknowledge them - as if nodding your head at people passing by you on the street. (pause)
Gently acknowledge their presence, and let them come and stay and go in their own good time.
(pause)
And keep your attention on the breath, observing it with curiosity. (pause 10-20 seconds)
Whatever thoughts, images, or memories arise, whether comfortable or uncomfortable, simply
acknowledge them and allow them to be...
Let them come & go as they please, and keep your attention on the breath. (pause 10-20
seconds)

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

From time to time, your attention will wander, as you get caught up in your thoughts. This is
normal. Each time this happens, notice what distracted you, then bring your attention back to
the breath. (pause 10-20 seconds)
No matter how often you drift off - whether a hundred times, or a thousand - your aim is simply
to note what distracted you, and refocus on your breath. (pause)
Again and again and again, you will drift off into your thoughts. This is normal and natural and
happens to everyone. Our minds naturally distract us from what we are doing. So each time
you realise your attention has wandered, gently acknowledge it, notice what distracted you,
and return your attention to the breath. (pause 10- 20 seconds)
If frustration, boredom, anxiety, impatience or other feelings arise, simply acknowledge them,
and maintain your focus on the breath. (pause 10-20 seconds)
No matter how often your attention wanders, gently acknowledge it, note what distracted you,
and then refocus on your breath. (pause) And when you are ready, bring yourself back to the
room and open your eyes

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

 Mindful Eating
(Unless stated otherwise, the word “pause” indicates a pause of around 5-10 seconds. A row
of dots “…” indicates a pause of about 2-3 seconds. Jon Kabat-Zinn popularised the use of a
raisin for this exercise, but any small morsel of food can be used.)

Throughout this exercise, all sorts of thoughts and feelings will arise. Let them come and stay
and go in their own good ti,e, and keep your attention on the exercise. If you realise that
your attention has wondered, briefly note what distracted you, then bring your attention
back to the raisin
Take hold of the raisin.
First look at it as if you’re a curious scientist who has never seen such a thing before. Notice
the shape, the colour, the different shades of colour, the parts where light bounces off the
surface, the contours, the pit where the stalk was attached.
Notice the weight of it in your hand and the feel of the skin against your fingers: its texture
and temperature.
Raise it to your nose and smell it. Notice the aroma.
Raise it to your mouth and pause for a moment before biting into it. Bring your attention to
what is happening inside your mouth: notice the salivation around your tongue and the urge
to bite into it.
Now slowly bite it in half, noticing your teeth breaking through the skin and sinking into the
flesh and the sound that makes, and the sensation of sweetness on your tongue.
Notice your teeth meeting, and the feel of the raisin falling onto your tongue, and the urge
to chew it and swallow it.
Chew it slowly, noticing the taste and texture. Notice the movement of your jaws, the sound
that chewing makes, the sensation of the flesh breaking down. Notice how your tongue
shapes the food.
Notice your urge to swallow – and as you do swallow, notice the movement in your throat,
and the sound it makes.
And after you’ve swallowed, pause and notice the way the taste gradually disappears from
your tongue.
Notice your growing urge to eat the remaining half.
Now eat the rest of the raisin in the same way.

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com

Mindful Body Scan - Or “Progressive Muscle Mindfulness”
There are many versions of the mindful body scan. My preferred version is to convert classic
“progressive muscle relaxation” (PMR) into a mindfulness exercise. I’m guessing that just about every
shape and size of mental health professional learns how to do PMR as part of their basic training. It’s a
very useful tool for teaching people how to relax, so if you aren’t familiar with it, I recommend you
google it and learn how to do it, pronto!

We can easily turn PMR from a relaxation technique into a mindfulness exercise. If you like, you can call
it PMM – progressive muscle mindfulness. We do this by a) removing the word ‘relax’, b) removing any
attempt to induce feelings of relaxation, and c) being explicit that the aim is to develop mindfulness
skills, not to feel relaxed.

And then we liberally add in the words ‘notice’ or ‘aware’ or ‘attention’ instead of ‘relax’

And then we liberally add in the words ‘notice’ or ‘aware’:

Tense up the muscles …
Notice (or be aware of) the feelings (or sensations) of tension …
Now ever so slowly, ease off/let go of the tension …
Notice the sensations of easing off/letting go/tension releasing ….
Now notice what the muscles feel like at rest …

The great thing about PMM is you can easily extend it to a formal 20-min mindfulness-training exercise.
(Or do a 10-min version, focused on just the top half or bottom half of the body.)

Because it is a more active process than a traditional mindful body scan (because it involves actively
tensing and releasing the muscles while also actively noticing the sensations), many people find it easier
to sustain focus and interest in the exercise than they do with a traditional ‘still’ body scan.

You can of course add in additional instructions to enhance the mindfulness skills of defusion,
acceptance, self-as-context. For example, to emphasise acceptance, you could say: If you encounter
some discomfort in your muscles, see if you can look at it with openness and curiosity … breathe into it …
make room for it …

And of course you don’t have to do extended PMM exercises; you can just focus in on any muscle or
muscle group, and do ultra-brief work.

For example, if a client feels tight or tense in the neck, you might ask him to focus mindfully on that one
area. Experiment with noticing the various sensations there, breathing into it, stretching/tensing
up/letting go/moving the muscle(s), laying a hand gently on top of them, etc.

© Russ Harris 2019 www.ImLearningACT.com